Not What it Seems
by Libstar
Summary: Reply to a prompt from tumblr: Miranda and the girls get jealous when a pregnant 18 year old who looks like she has been in an MMA fight and her three year old show up claiming they know Andrea. Its her younger sister and she needs Andrea's help. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

This is a reply to a prompt I received on tumblr and what I originally planned to be something short has kind of run away with me. Usual disclaimers apply and as usual I hope you enjoy.

The prompt: Miranda and the kids get jealous when a pregnant 18 year old who looks like she has been in an MMA fight and her 3 year old show up claiming she knows Andrea. It's Andy's baby sister and she needs Andy's help.

I've twisted the prompt slightly to fit my ideas, I've taken some liberties with Miranda's behavior but I'm a firm believer that if you care deeply for someone the way you react in regards to them is likely to go completely against the way you would react to anyone else. Rated M for the possibility of later.

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><p>Miranda had had too long to stew in her anger, she knew that and the girls knew that. Andrea had stood them up, no phone call, not even a text and the editor had had the entire show to build up steam. It was supposed to have been their first family outing since hers and Andrea's relationship had become public and the media storm that had followed had settled down so that they could actually venture out without being hounded by paparazzi but Andrea just hadn't shown. It seemed that maybe Andrea was turning out to be just like the others and in record time too, she had even beaten Stephen to it and he had only managed to remain dependable for about five minutes after they married.<p>

Cassidy knew the minute her mother had directed Roy to take them to Andy's place instead of the townhouse that she should try and do something to change her mind or at least distract her from the anger that was practically radiating off her in waves. She had never known her mom react so explosively to anyone the way she reacted to Andrea. When things were good it was amazing, her mom laughed and smiled more, even when Andrea wasn't there, but if something went wrong? One of two things would happen, you would either be able to hear her shouting on the other side of the townhouse or she would appear hours later her eyes red, her face blotchy like she had been crying, neither were things that Cassidy ever expected from her mom but Andy had changed a lot of things. Today was a screaming day though, Cassidy could see it in the set of her mom's shoulders and the way she had fidgeted her way through the entire show. It had been two years since Andy had reappeared and this would, by no means, be the first or last fight that the two women had but Cassidy had to wonder at what point her mom would go to far and Andy would just walk away again.

Caroline wasn't like her sister, she had no desire to distract her mom from whatever fit she was winding herself into, nor did she particularly care that Andy was going to be on the receiving end of it. It was always the same when their mom met someone new although Andy had been more genuine in her desire to get to know the twins too and didn't just fake it for Miranda's sake Caroline wasn't surprised that she was obviously loosing interest. It always happened eventually, just when Caroline was getting used to having a new person around, of sharing her sister and her mom with someone new, they started getting bored, they started missing dinners and family outings and eventually they vanished. She had really hoped that Andy was different, she'd actually liked her and Andy had helped her with her school work, encouraged her to pursue her writing, she'd made her mom happy too and even when they argued the brunette had been active in fixing things, but if Andy was already standing them up it was only a matter of time before she vanished altogether. Caroline was beginning to think that maybe there was some kind of curse on all of them that made them impossible to love. What she would never know was that her mother, for a long time, had believed exactly them same thing.


	2. Chapter 2

As the car pulled up outside Andrea's apartment Miranda briefly questioned why she was reacting so explosively to being stood up by the younger woman. With anyone else she would have shrugged it off and enjoyed the evening with her girls, but Andrea, Andrea had always managed to pull an extreme reaction from her. It had taken her a very long time to realise that what was different with Andrea was the strength and depth of her feelings.

Instructing the twins to wait in the car she swept into the building and straight for the elevator. Out of character for the fashion maven Miranda hadn't planned much past this point, only knowing she was furious and allowing her anger rather than her reason to guide her. It was her anger that led her to let herself into the apartment with her key instead of knocking and anger which led to what happened next.

Andy woke with a start when her front door made sharp contact with the wall and tried to process what was happening while trying to wrestle herself from underneath the dead weight of Jill.

"What the hell?" she questioned catching sight of platinum hair

"Quite," Andrea shivered at the ice in Miranda's voice, "I'll leave my key Andrea, I trust that you will have the sense not to use mine again." she heard the key hit the side table and the door slam before he could manage to reply never mind move. It was the second bang that woke Jill and as the other woman began to move Andrea became aware of exactly what Miranda thought she had walked in on. Jill's face was buried in her neck, her hand was clutched at the front of her shirt, the brunette could imagine that from Miranda's perspective it probably looked very intimate.

"Shit shit shit!"

"What was that?" Jill asked, pushing herself up so she could look at Andy who tried not to flinch again at the bruises on the girls face,

"That was Miranda," she said, pushing herself upright when she heard bare feet on the wooden floor, "Hey sweety are you ok?"

"Heard a noise," Evie mumbled, rubbing at her eyes, it was almost enough to make Andrea forget the trouble she was obviously in with Miranda, turning to regard her sister as Evie climbed up onto her knee she noticed that she looked nervous and given the state she was in Andrea couldn't blame her,

"Who wants pizza?" she asked instead, she'd deal with Miranda in a second but first she needed to make sure her little sister felt safe.

Miranda allowed the anger to carry her back to the Townhouse and through getting the girls to bed. It peaked momentarily when she checked her phone and found it full of missed calls from the brunette. But the longer she sat alone in her study, thinking, the further the anger moved away to be replaced with hopelessness. The room was full of reminders of the brunette and in Miranda's view, the permanent place she had taken in the lives of all of the Priestly women. Yet again Miranda found herself faced with very uncomfortable truth; there was something about her that was fundamentally unloveable.

Both girls were in the dark. They knew their mother was furious, they knew she had barely spent five minutes in Andrea's apartment building and they knew she had barely spoken since she had gotten back in the car. They couldn't even guess though what had actually transpired that afternoon and they both knew that they would probably never find out, they would just be expected to pick up the pieces.

Caroline wasn't surprised that when she got up at around 1am for a drink (and honestly a snack), the light was still on in her mom's study. The Book had been waiting on the hall table when they had gotten home and it wouldn't be the first time that Miranda had stayed up late into the night editing it, not by a long shot. What did surprise the girl though was that her moms usually silent work was tonight accompanied by music and Caroline knew for a fact it was one of Andrea's CD's. A silent look through the crack in the door showed her mom curled up in her armchair wrapped in the blanket that Andrea kept in the study for the nights she would try and stay up with the editor only to fall asleep on the sofa, a tumbler of whiskey was clutched in her hand and the book was lying unopened on her lap. It seemed to Caroline that she was the only one sensible enough not to fall for Andrea's syrupy smiles and large brown eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

After a night without sleep and more calls sent straight to voice mail than she could count Andrea was at a loss. She'd given Jill and Evie her bed and spent the night staring at her living room ceiling trying to work out what the hell to do but by 6am she was still no further forward. She knew better than most that once Miranda had something in her head it was almost impossible to change her mind, maybe a run would help.

She shouldn't have been surprised that her run ended at Miranda's front door or that the older woman's key was in her pocket of her shorts. Miranda's warning from the previous night gave her minute pause but it was far outweighed by the knowledge that she needs to talk to Miranda and make this right. A night spent knowing that Miranda is hurting, because she knows the anger she saw was just the tip of the iceberg, caused a physical ache and she knows that she needs to at least try to fix it.

Pushing into the townhouse she was surprised to find a light on in the kitchen and that she could hear the twins chatting, it was before eight on a saturday and normally that would mean the girls would still be in bed, it would normally mean that she and Miranda would still be in bed. Deciding that talking to the girls was as good a place to start as any and that it was a good way to gauge how their mom had been she headed in that direction.

'Hey guys," she said gently, hanging back at the door. She knew that the twins must have been with Miranda when she turned up at the apartment the previous evening but other than that she had no idea what they knew or what they thought they knew. The way each girl reacted told her everything she needed to know. Cassidy smiled but Andrea could see the uncertainty behind it, Caroline however, in true mini Miranda style, pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow over her mug,

"Where were you last night?" the slightly elder twin groused,

"Something really important came up and I completely lost track of time, I'm really sorry."

"You didn't even call," Cassidy mumbled and it made Andrea hate herself even more for letting the girls down.

"Girls, go to your rooms." Andrea's eyes snapped to the back staircase where Miranda had silently appeared and she was floored by the emotions swimming in ice blue eyes. She didn't take her eyes off the other woman as she listened to the girls shuffle out of the room, Miranda looked exhausted, her face was free of make up and her eyes were bloodshot and all Andrea wanted to do was pull her into her arms and never let her go.

"I thought I asked you to stay away." the older woman said once the twins were definitely out of earshot.

"You did," Andrea said carefully, taking several steps into the room"But that's because you think you walked in on something last night but it really wasn't what it looked like."

"I know what I saw Andrea."

"I know what I think you saw Miranda but I swear it wasn't what it looked like" Andrea took another step towards the white haired woman but stopped herself from reaching out like she wanted to.

"I knew really," Miranda said quietly setting about making herself coffee just to keep her hands occupied and her eyes off the brunette. She wanted to ignore that Andrea looked as awful as she felt and she knew that as soon as she looked into her eyes she would begin to fall into them, "I knew that eventually this would happen, that I would become boring or my age would become an issue, that you would realised that you could do so much better than me. But I had hoped, by God I had hoped."

"Miranda please," Andrea whispered, stepping right int the other woman's personal space, tears burning in her eyes at her admission, "Miranda I lo..."

"Don't," Miranda looked up into Andrea's eyes and the pain staring back at he broke the brunettes heart, "I would like you to go, and leave my key this time."


	4. Chapter 4

So this morning I realised I left the last part unfinished, so here is what should have happened directly following that scene.

This story continues to have a mind of its own, I find myself wanting to scream at the Miranda I have written and give her a shake for good measure but this version of the woman just keeps on coming. I'm going to be in London this weekend for my partners birthday so I can't promise an update though the next part is written so I might get the chance to type it on the train this afternoon. Thank you for the continued lovely reviews, follows and favs, they give me the confidence to keep writing for you guys xx

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><p>"Miranda, she's my sister." Andrea grabbed the other woman's wrist as she tried to walk away, knowing that if she let it happen again things would never get fixed, pulling her back into her body and wrapping her arms around her waist, the hold wasn't tight, the older woman could step out of it easily if she wanted to but it was enough to keep her still, "She's my sister Miranda," she repeated against her ear.<p>

"Don't treat me like a fool Andrea, I know for a fine fact that you don't have a sister." she resisted the hold the brunette had on her but only a little, she was exhausted and against all of her better judgement she simply wanted to accept Andrea's explanation and sink into her arms,

"I do Miranda, please. Can we at least go sit somewhere and talk about this?" When the white haired woman gave a nod Andrea relaxed her grip but did not let go altogether, forcing Miranda to be the one who broke contact, she did but it was slow and Andrea picked up the uncertainty in her movements, it made her heart clench painfully. She watched Miranda resume her coffee making, pulling another mug down from the cupboard, the almost robotic movements gave nothing of the editors on emotions away. Andrea could only hope that she could get through to the older woman.

"I hope she is telling her to get lost," Caroline huffed, throwing herself onto Cassidy's bed as she followed her twin into her room.

"We don't even know what happened Carp and she said she was sorry. I thought you liked Andy."

"What's the point in liking any of them?" Caroline sighed, "it all ends the same way."

"I thought Andy was different, she makes mom happy, like really happy."

"Yeah well." Caroline shrugged and rolled onto her stomach, "you need to learn that we can't rely on anyone. The three of us just have to look after each other."

Cassidy, always wanting to protect her twin and be seen to agree with her was silent after that but she mulled over what her sister had said. Cassidy knew she had always been more trusting than her sister but she really had thought that Caroline actually liked Andy, the smiles and laughs she shared with the brunette were more genuine than any she had shared with Stephen and even their father really, Caroline had even trusted the other woman with some if her writing samples, something not even Cassidy or their mother had been able to see. She understood that seeing their mom hurt hurt them too but she worried that her sister was getting an unrealistic view of what relationships were actually like. They tended to have the same friends and Cassidy had noticed before that it seemed to be her who was left to make the first move when it came to anyone New and Caroline had always taken a little longer to warm up to them. She hoped that Andy and her mom could sort whatever this was out, not just because she wanted her mom to be happy, though that was a big part of it, but also because maybe it would help Caroline realise that they could rely on other people.


	5. Chapter 5

Andrea followed Miranda into the downstairs sitting room where the editor used to wait for the book and tried not to be disheartened by the formal setting. She was lucky that Miranda was listening to her at all.

"Come on then," Miranda muttered once she had gotten herself comfortable in her usual armchair. She turned her body towards Andrea but studiously avoided her eyes, choosing instead to stare a hole in the wall above her head.

"Everything with Jill has ways been complicated." Andrea began, staring steadfastly at the side of Miranda's head, "she ran away when she was 13, it was a year before we heard anything from her and after that all we got was a postcard to say that she was ok, that she was happy. I was already away at college when it happened but just the way that my parents acted when I spoke to them told me exactly what affect it was having. We'd never really gotten on, and the way she behaved didn't improve that. When she turned up again she was pregnant, she couldn't afford the medical bills, didn't have insurance and the father wasn't interested, my parents welcomed her back with open arms, the prodigal daughter returned. She disappeared again not long after Evie was born, took most of what my parents had. I met my niece for the first time yesterday, she's three years old and she had no idea who I was."

"Two years together and you never mentioned a sister, why should I start believing you now?" If Miranda really thought about it, if she took the time to study Andrea's face she would have known there was no lie there, but she was wearing the anger from the previous night like armour because if she was angry she couldn't be hurt.

"Miranda please, I never talk about Jill, not even Nate knew she existed, it's not something I ever thought was important, hell, I never expected to see her again. Like I said, we never got on, we weren't close like Caro and Cass, we never understood each other and we never tried to." Andrea could feel tears burning the backs of her eyes, the last 24 hours had been an emotional rollercoaster and all she wanted was for Miranda to be a little understanding, instead she was getting a mixture of hurt and anger from the older woman, neither if which were making her feel any better.

"And you let people you aren't close to to practically drape themselves all over you? Should I expect to come home next week to find you cuddled up with the mail man? How is it that this so called sister of yours came upon your address anyway? You've moved since you moved to New York. Since you claimed you last saw her." Andrea wanted to scream, she didn't know where to begin with answering any of the older woman's questions because she honestly couldn't believe she was being asked them. She had known that getting into a relationship with Miranda that the woman could be downright unreasonable at times, if she had learnt anything from her time at runway it was that, but as they had gotten to know each other away from their work relationship and what they shared morphed from friends to more than that Andrea had seen a completely new side to the so called Dragon, one that she could do with seeing before she completely broke down.

"I'm a journalist Miranda, my name appears in print everyday so it would be easy enough to find out I was still in the city. As for my address, it's probably on public record or something."

"That still doesn't explain why you had strapped all over you."

"She was upset Miranda and regardless of what has happened in the past I wasn't going leave her to sit there and break her heart." _Not like you. _


	6. Chapter 6

So I pretty much hate this part but every time I try to rewrite it the same thing comes out, I just feel like Miranda changes her mind a little too quickly but I don't know, I guess when the fight finally drains out of you it goes all at once. Hopefully the next part will come more quickly and less painfully. Thank you again for all the reviews, favs and reviews. They mean the world xx

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><p>Miranda needed to get up and walk around, all of the emotions swimming in her system were making her feel fidgety and one thing Miranda Priestly did not do was fidget. Pushing herself up she moved over to the window over looking the street, wrapping her arms across her stomach and digging her nails into her sides trying to ground herself. Andrea had no reason to lie to her, never mind to make up an elaborate story when if something had happened all of the evidence was there for the taking, she had after all seen it with her own eyes. Despite knowing this and, more importantly, trusting Andrea there was still a small part of her that couldn't understand how, in the two years they had been together, a sister had never come up in conversation, and if Andrea hadn't told her then what else was the brunette hiding from her? Still, the sight of Andrea beneath another, no matter how innocent, would be forever burnt into her memory as one of the most painful moments of her life. She had thought that catching Stephen with his secretary in her home office had been bad but it was a paper cut compared to this. Andrea had proven over the years to be different in every single way to every man that Miranda had dated or married. She understood Miranda and her work ethic more than any other person and she didn't just understand it, she accepted it and didn't try to change it, she wasn't reproachful when Miranda was late for dinner or missed it altogether, though those instances had been very few since their relationship had started because Miranda had found that she actually wanted to come home and spend time with the younger woman and the girls. The townhouse was a happy place again, filled with fun and laughter, something it had not been since the twins were babies and Miranda knew she had Andrea to thank for that. But she was always worried that one day Andrea would realize that she was getting a raw deal and the thought that that fear had been realized knocked her sick. Andrea, she supposed, had never come out and said that she wasn't an only child, Miranda had just assumed when no mention of siblings was forthcoming but it wasn't like they hadn't talked about their families, Miranda had told the younger woman the most painful parts of her past, the things she hadn't shared with anyone and maybe that was what the real problem was now that she had gotten to the bottom of what exactly had been going on. Maybe what it all came down to was that she had trusted Andrea with the worst parts of herself but for whatever reason Andrea hadn't felt she could trust Miranda with this and if there was no trust where did that leave them?<p>

"Is it that you didn't think you could trust me?" she said quietly, her eyes still trained outside the window, she heard Andrea's sharp intake of breath and her heart clenched. Andrea dropped her head into her hands and rubbed at her eyes, lack of sleep and being close to tears on and off for twenty four hours had left them feeling gritty and sore. She hated that Miranda felt this was a trust issue, she would trust the older woman with her life and she didn't know how to explain that not telling her about Jill had nothing to do with a lack of trust and everything to do with Andrea not feeling that it was important. She could see where the older woman was coming from, if one of Miranda's siblings had appeared out of the blue one day, a sibling she had no knowledge of, she would be suspicious and upset too, she'd probably question how much the other woman trusted her.

"Miranda I trust you wholeheartedly I thought you knew that," she said carefully, pushing herself up and moving to stand as close to the older woman as she could without touching her, she could see that Miranda was still strung tight and she fought against the strong urge to reach out and run a soothing hand over her shoulders and down her back,

"I thought I knew that too," Miranda breathed out, "But this, I don't know what to think about this. There is a part of me that would rather have found that you had in fact been conducting a relationship with that girl, I'm not sure how to reconcile you keeping something so big from me and us moving forward."

"Miranda please," Andrea went against her instincts and reached out, smoothing her hands over Miranda's which were bunched tightly in her jumper and quite possibly her skin, she was gratified that they relaxed minutely and the older woman's shoulders sagged slightly. "I wish that Jill had crossed my mind at any point in the last two years because if she had you would have known about her but Miranda, you have to understand, I spent most of my adult life just not talking about her, the second time she ran away my parents got rid of everything that was hers from the house, all of the photographs all of the stuff from her old room, was split between a fire in the yard and the local thrift stores. I came back from college one break and it was like she had never existed. We never talked about her again after that. I didn't consciously keep her from you, I wish I could prove it to you."

"You understand why I am so perturbed by this though don't you?" Miranda could hear the sincerity in the younger woman's voice and couldn't deny that she believed her now, she also couldn't help thinking that she may have come across as a crazy old woman in the last hour or so,

"Of course I do Miranda," Andrea said gently, slipping her arms around the older woman and pulling her close, "I'm sure I would be the same if our roles were reversed, anything you need me to do to make this right I'll do it. Just name it Miranda."

"I'd like to meet her, and your niece," Miranda said, turning in the younger woman's arms and resting her head on her shoulder, it felt good to finally be able to relax against Andrea as her body let go of all of the tension it had been holding since the previous evening, "and I'd like to arrange for somewhere for her to stay, I don't like the idea of her staying at your apartment and you not knowing when she might disappear and what she might take." the more she thought about it the more she hated the idea of Andrea's kindness being misused, "and I don't want to hear any arguments."

"It's not like I have anything worth stealing," Andrea murmured, pressing a kiss to Miranda's head, "All of the things that mean anything at all to me are here. Is this going to be one of those occasions you use to remind me again that I am too nice?"

"It is," Miranda nodded, squeezing her middle, "But also know it is not a characteristic I wish you to change, I only wish for you to be more careful with yourself, who knows what could have happened when you invited your sister into your home last night. You could have woken up this morning to find everything gone, her violent boyfriend could have followed her," Miranda shuddered at the thought, "You're very important to me Andrea and to a host of others, don't underestimate how many people would be effected if something happened to you."

"I know and I'm sorry, for all of this. Do the twins hate me? I was really looking forward to that show last night."

"The twins will come round, they always do. It was a fantastic show, I'm sure the girls would be happy to attend again if you would still like to see it."

"I would, with all three of you. I'm sorry Miranda."

"I'm sorry too darling," Andrea fully relaxed the minute the pet name left the other woman's mouth, if she was back to being 'darling' then things truly would be alright, she wasn't as sure about the twins though, especially Caroline, "For jumping to conclusions and for not waiting around to listen."

"I think I would have reacted in the same way, either that or yelled, or thrown something, you showed incredible restraint." she chuckled lightly, "I didn't even see you breathe any fire!"


	7. Chapter 7

Andrea woke with a start from a nap that she hadn't planned and winced as her neck and shoulders protested at the position they had been held in. They had moved to the couch when the tension had leached out of both of them. Andrea had sat with her back against he arm of the chair and pulled Miranda between her legs , cradling her against her body. As the anger and tension had left her it had been replaced with exhaustion and Andrea had urged her to rest for a moment. Andrea hadn't planned on staying for long but obviously her own exhaustion had caught up with her too and she had no idea how much time had passed.

"Miranda," she said, gently brushing her fingers through the older woman's hair, "Miranda honey, wake up." the other woman stired slightly, pressing her face into Andrea's neck and sighing contentedly before seemingly falling back into a deep sleep. Andrea chuckled and pressed a kiss to the snowy white head, if only PageSix could see their Ice Queen like this they would have a fit, but Andrea loved that she didn't have to share this side of Miranda with anyone.

"Mira'" she singsonged, walking the fingers of one hand over her shoulder and down her side, "Time to wake up."

"No," Miranda groaned, knocking the tickling digits away from her sideand pulling the arm back around herself, "Hold still Andrea."

"I need to go home," Andrea sighed, kissing the head resting on her chest again, "I've left Jill alone for too long and you need to spend some time with the girls before James picks them up."

"Must you be right all of the time?"he grumbled pushing herself upright, she hated to admit that she felt better for the small amount of sleep, "What are your plans for the rest of the day?" they had planned on spending the time that the girls were with their father together and Miranda had planned that they wouldn't spend much of that time outside of the bedroom but the arrival of Jill meant that those plans would have to be saved for another day.

"I don't know," Andrea shrugged and rubbed at her eyes "I need to talk to Jill, find out what's been going on with her for the last few years."

"Let me bring dinner tonight?"

"I'd love that, I know you had plans for us tonight, I'm sorry."

"We'll just have to make the most of it. I have some work to do on the Book once James picks the girls up but it wont take long, I'll pick dinner up on my way." Miranda pushed herself to her feet and held out her hand to pull Andrea up and into another embrace, "Don't let her take advantage of you darling."

"I wont," Andrea pressed a lingering kiss to Miranda's mouth and smiled, "Tell the girls we will do something when they get back from their dads and I'll see you later."

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><p>"Andy just left," Cassidy said, dropping the cookies she had stolen from the kitchen onto the bed beside her sister, "They hugged before she left so I guess everything is ok."<p>

"Until next time," Caroline said, not looking up from her magazine, "I wouldn't get too excited Cass, it always ends the same."

"Why do you always have to be so negative about everything Caro, I know you like Andy really. You're so like mom sometimes"

"Oh shut up Cass, I'm just being a realist, the only person you can trust is you and the sooner you realise that the better."

Cassidy didn't know what to say to that so she stayed quiet, snagging a cookie she settled in with her book. She did understand why Caroline had trouble trusting people their mum brought into their lives but even when Andy had just been their moms assistant, even after they talked the brunette into delivering the book upstairs and got her into trouble, she had been nice to them and taken a couple of minutes to stop and chat with them if their mom was out late working.

She remembered what it had been like when their mom had returned from Paris without Stephen (no loss) but without Andrea too. Everything had changed after that, most of it was good, they did more as a family, their mom was home most nights in time for dinner but, although their mom smiled and laughed, the smiles never quite reached her eyes and the sound was hollow. It wasn't until Andrea reappeared, quite unexpectedly, that things changed and the smiles were brighter, the laugh more genuine. Andrea made them all, even Caroline, happy and Cassidy, who believed in true love and soul mates, believed wholeheartedly that their mom had finally found hers.


	8. Chapter 8

You all might as well know that I pretty much hate this part but it's a necessary link to what is to come so there you go. The next part is pretty much written so hopefully it will be up soon. Thanks for the continued support, you guys literally keep me going. Xx

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><p>Feeling muzzy from her unexpected nap and he earlier run Andrea opted to catch a cab back across town rather than running back. Stopping at the corner market to grab some things she was surprised to find that only three hours had passed since she had left the apartment for her run. Jill, or at least Evie, would be up and about by the time she got back. Pushing her way through her front door she dumped her bags on the kitchen bench and caught herself casting her eyes around the space to make sure everything was where it should be, blood ties hadn't stopped her sister stealing from their parents, there was nothing stopping Jill doing the same to her, no matter how much that thought broke her heart, Miranda was right, she needed to look out for herself. The TV was playing children's cartoons and there was a half eaten bowl of lucky charms on the coffee table but apart from that everything was where it should be and she allowed herself to relax slightly.<p>

"Mommy?" Andrea spun on her heel to see Evie wandering in from the bedroom, the little girl had obviously dressed herself that morning, the tiny shirt she had picked out to go with her jeans was buttoned up all wrong, Andrea tried to ignore how old and worn the clothes looked.

"Hey sweetheart."

"Is my mummy with you?" she asked, climbing up onto the sofa and settling into the cushions. Andrea's blood ran cold, surely Jill wouldn't, couldn't leave her daughter on her own in an unfamiliar apartment,

"No she isn't baby girl," Andrea toed off her trainers and curled into the sofa beside her niece, gratified when the little girl immediately shuffled closer and leaned in. She was glad, in a way, that trust was so easy to gain when they were this age and that she still had a chance to get to know the girl, she could have done with some of that innocent trust when she had first been getting to know the twins. "Did she say where she was going?"

"To buy milk." Andrea knew for a fact that there was more than enough milk in her fridge to keep them all going for at least the day, "Two spongebobs ago."

Andrea sighed and rubbed her forehead, so Jill had been gone for about an hour. Andrea would give her a little longer then she would come up with a plan or she would call Miranda, she would know what to do.

"I'm sure she'll be home soon sweety, how about me make some cookies while we wait?"

"Don't know how," Evie pouted and yet again Andrea's heart clenched, she and Jill had been baking with their mother since they were old enough to sit up on the bench beside her mixing bowl, what else had Evie missed out on while Jill moved from man to man and god knew what else? What kind of childhood had she really had?

"Well you are lucky, because I happen to be an expert and I would love to teach you."

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><p>After once again promising a movie night when they returned from their fathers Miranda kissed and hugged the girls and ushered them out to James' waiting car. Leaning against the door frame as she waved them out of the street she let out a big breath. She was exhausted, a night of very little sleep having caught up with her and even the short nap she had had with Andrea earlier had only been enough to get her through helping the twins to pack their things and dealing with their exuberance. Now that all of the tension that had kept her awake all night was gone she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep some more but she knew she had work to do before she could go and spend the evening with Andrea. She had attempted The Book the previous evening but had by no means given it her full attention and although it was the weekend and there was no real rush she wanted to get it out of the way so she could be available to support Andrea any way she would need. using her shoulder to push herself from her position she moved back into the house and straight up to her study, mind over matter.<p>

Once she managed to focus The Book only took her an hour to review, most of her points from the previous night only needing some embellishing . Deciding that a coffee would help with the next part of the process, packing an overnight bag and making herself look presentable, she made her way downstairs only then remembering that her mobile was in the downstairs study where she had spoken to Andrea. She had a text from the girls to say that they had arrived safely and would call her tonight which made her smile, it was the messages from Andrea that made her frown.

Got home, Evie was here alone, says her mum has been gone for 2 spongebobs. A x

Still no sign, God Miranda what do I do? How can a person just abandon their child? x

"Miranda?" Andrea answered the phone on the first ring and the older woman was momentarily satisfied that some of the habits the brunette had learnt while working for her hadn't vanished all together, she despised listening to a dial tone.

"Has your sister turned up yet?" she asked pulling her over night bag from a closet on the way to the bedroom, coffee forgotten, Andrea sounded exhausted and stressed and her need to be their far outweighed her need for caffeine at this point.

"No of course she hasn't!" Andrea snapped and then sagged against the kitchen counter, "Sorry."

"It's ok darling, I'm packing a bag and I'll be there soon. How is Evie?"

"Having a nap. We made some cookies and did some drawing but I don't have all that much here to keep a three year old entertained. She's acting like this is normal."

"We don't know that it isn't." Miranda sighed, she was quite sure that Jill would turn up again eventually but she found it reprehensible that she had left her little girl to fend for herself in the first place. "Why don't you close you eyes while she's sleeping? I'll be there soon."

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><p>It was an hour before Miranda let herself quietly into Andrea's apartment laden down with bags. Knowing the that Andrea's apartment wasn't really a child friendly zone she had gone to the rarely visited third floor where the girls things from growing up were stored. She had selected several toys and a few of her girls favorite books as well as a few stuffed toys and some clothes that had barely been worn. She had no idea what kinds of things Evie had, if any, but with all of this at her disposal there was no reason why she couldn't make sure the girl had a comfortable stay while she was with them.<p>

The brunette stirred on the sofa while Miranda was taking of her coat and the older woman watched as she stretched cat like and smiled, she truly was a breath taking sight.

"Hi," pushing herself up Andrea wandered over and pressed a kiss to Miranda's cheek in greeting

"Hello Andrea." Miranda smiled, brushing the bangs out of the young woman's eyes, "Feel better?"

"Mhm," Andrea hummed, trailing her eyes over the older woman, dressed down in jeans and an overlarge button down shirt, the clackers and the press would go into fits if they could see Miranda like this and Andrea was very pleased she had the privilege of seeing the other woman so relaxed and comfortable, "You look good."

"Yes well. It's a shame that you look to be wearing your running clothes from this morning with additional flour." Miranda quirked an eyebrow and pursed her lips minutely

"Yes well, I've had more pressing things to deal with since I got home, toddlers are hard work."

"Yes, I had two," Miranda smirked, slipping around the younger woman with her bags, "And I always managed to look Runway ready." Andrea rolled her eyes and followed the older woman into the apartment, Miranda Priestly could always do one better. "Why don't you go and have a shower while Evie is still sleeping?" In answer Andrea pressed a kiss to Miranda's cheek and grinned,

"I love you."

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><p>Miranda busied herself with straightening up the living room and kitchen while the brunette showered. The first time the younger woman had caught her pottering about the house she hadn't been able to keep the surprise from her face. When Miranda had asked her why it was so surprising and the younger woman had simply stated that it was a side of The Editor that she never expected to see. The truth was that yes, The Editor would not be seen dead tidying up around the office, she had people to do that for her after all, first and foremost, was a mother and despite having the means to pay for a Cara to look after the girls while she had to work, when she was home the house and the girls were something for her to take pride in, it hadn't taken long for Andrea's space to be drawn under that umbrella and helping to keep the space tidy came naturally to her.<p>

While she was staking the dishwasher she heard bare feet on the wood floor and turned to see a little girl wandering out of Andrea's bedroom rubbing her eyes. She was taken aback by how much the little girl looked like she imagined Andrea had at that age except for the blue eyes.

"Who are you?" oh there was the Sachs spunk that Miranda had come to know and love, "Where's my aunt Andy?"

"She's in the shower sweetheart," Miranda bent down so she was at the little girls level and held out her hand, "I'm Miranda."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry it's been so long since my last update, I've really been struggling with my inspiration and motivation to write anything recently. Happy Valentines Day you lovely lot x

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><p>When Andrea emerged from the bathroom forty five minutes later, her hair pulled into a messy bun and wearing a pair worn jeans and a tank top that could pass for clean, her was warmed by what she saw. Pausing in the doorway she watched her lover and her niece interact. Miranda was sat cross legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, Evie sat on her lap. Miranda had obviously brought some things with her because there was a stuffed horse tucked under the little girls arm that she hadn't seen before. The table was once again covered in art materials, things that Andrea wouldn't tell the older woman were a hangover from her time as her assistant when she was expected to do the twins homework, but Miranda had obviously brought a coloring book with her too because they appeared to be coloring couture.<p>

"This one is really pretty," Evie said, her eyes lighting up at one of the dresses on the page and Miranda chuckled,

"You have very good taste my dear," she smiled, absently coloring a pair of shoes on the next page, "What color do you think it should be?"

Andrea often lamented missing out on the twins being that age because she had missed being there to watch them learn, she had never considered that she had missed out on a precious side of Miranda too. Anyone who knew Miranda, the public Miranda, would never guess a lot of things about the older woman but even Andrea hadn't considered how perfect she would look interacting with a toddler. She had never seen the older woman looking this relaxed with anyone except her girls and although Andrea had never planned on a baby of her own seeing Miranda here like this, bare foot and coloring on the floor made her long to share a child with the older woman.

"Your Aunt Andrea wore a dress very like this one once," Miranda said absently, watching the little girl color, she was very impressed with her eye for style and color,

"Really?"

"Let me see kiddo." Andrea pushed herself away from the wall and caught Miranda's eye with a smile before turning her attention back to the little girl and the picture she was holding. "Ah the Valentino, yes sweetheart but mine was black."

"Wow!" Andrea chuckled at Evie's wide eyes and dropped herself onto the floor beside them,

"Are we having fun?"

"Randa brought toys," she enthused, bouncing on the older woman's knee

"Did you say thank you?"

"Thank you Randa!" Evie twisted and threw her arms around the editors neck, hitting her on the back of the head with the horse that remained clutched in her hand as she pressed a messy kiss to her cheek.

"You're very welcome," Miranda chuckled, doing a very good job of not wincing at the rough treatment, "Why don't you and Charles continue coloring and your Aunt and I will fix a snack." Evie climbed happily down from Miranda's knee giving the two women the space to stand up and move towards the kitchen.

"Thank you for looking after her while I was busy," Andrea said snagging Miranda's hand and pulling her close, resting her arms on her shoulders, "You really are good with her."

"Like I said, I had two," Miranda smirked, "Anyway, she's an angel though she is very trusting."

"I shudder to think how many people Jill has marched through her life. Even in her teens she went through more boys than I did articles."

"Speaking of Jill, what are we going to do about your wayward sister?" Miranda stepped away and began rummaging in Andrea's fridge for a healthy snack for them all to share. The longer she spent with Evie the more she couldn't believe that Jill could just abandon her,

"Give her till tomorrow morning then call the Police? I don't know Miranda, what if she doesn't come back? What happens to Evie then?"

"Sweetheart," Miranda reached out for Andrea's hand and squeezed it lightly, "We'll do whatever we need to do to make sure that that little girl is safe," what Miranda didn't say was that if Jill did come back she would still be invested in making sure that Evie and the baby Jill was carrying were safe.

"I'm sorry our weekend hasn't turned out the way we planned," Andrea sighed

"Stop apologizing," Miranda chastised gently, returning to the circle of Andrea's arms and kissing her lightly, "There will be other weekends and at the moment there are more important things going on like getting to know your niece. Now come on, it's snack time, them Evie and myself are going to test you on what you learnt at Runway.

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><p>Miranda was pleased that the knock at the door had woken her and not Andrea. Evie had become antsy when it was time for bed, asking for her mummy and refusing to settle down. It had taken it out of the brunette to see the little girl so upset but now they were both sleeping soundly, almost nose to nose, and Miranda wanted it to stay that out of bed she closed the bedroom door behind her and pulled on a cardigan over her pyjamas before she answered the door. The truly pathetic creature on the other side of the door gave her pause. Even through the bruises there was no doubt that this was Andrea's sister and a small, very small, amount of pity tempered her anger.<p>

"Who are you?" the girl muttered, shoving past Miranda and into the appartment and dropping herself onto the sofa. She really was a mess, her face bruised, lip split clothes grubby at best, going on the size of her she was around six months pregnant but Miranda could see that other than around her middle she was scarily thin.

"I'm your sisters partner and you and I need to have a little talk."

"To be honest I'm pretty tired." Jill said forcing a yawn, she couldn't deny that even in pyjamas with no make up and sleep tousled hair, Miranda Priestly was slightly terrifying,

"That's fine, this wont take long." Miranda stayed standing, her editors mask firmly in place, "Andrea means a great deal to me and people who hurt those whom I love reap the consequences. I know your track record Jill and if you even think of disappearing and taking anything of Andrea's with you I will find you."

"Is that a threat lady?"

"Simply a small piece of advice. Now I'm going back to bed, I suggest you get some sleep." Miranda paused at the door and added, "Evie's fine by the way, it's touching that you were so concerned that you forgot to ask"

"What's going on?" Andrea asked quietly when Miranda climbed back into bed, she shifted Evie gently so she was tucked closer to her body so she could pull the other woman closer, a definite down side to having her niece in bed with them was that she couldn't hold Miranda as close as she would like, especially after the uncertainty of the previous night,

"Nothing sweetheart, go back to sleep," Miranda smiled brushing the hair from the brunettes face, "Go back to sleep."

"I heard voices," Miranda could see that the younger woman was already half way back to sleep,

"Go to sleep," Miranda murmured again, continuing to stroke the younger woman's hair until her breathing evened and deepend in sleep. She knew Andrea needed to deal with Jill at some point but that time wasn't now, now they all needed to sleep, there would be time for talking tomorrow.


End file.
